Another SE Texas movie theater bites the dust

Liz Teitz
| on November 10, 2017

Photo: Jennifer Reynolds, Staff Photographer

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W.S. Rosser, longtime manager of the Pines Theater, poses for a photo in the theater in 2001. Rosser was known to generations of Silsbee residents while running the theater for more than 65 years. EnterpriseW.S. Rosser, longtime manager of the Pines Theater, poses for a photo in the theater in 2001. Rosser was known to generations of Silsbee residents while running the theater for more than 65 years. Enterprise file photo

Photo: Ryan Pelham

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The Pines Theater in downtown Silsbee. The theater has been closed since Harvey with no date to reopen set. Photo taken Tuesday 10/3/17 Ryan Pelham/The Enterprise

Photo: Ryan Pelham

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The Pines Theater in downtown Silsbee. The theater has been closed since Harvey with no date to reopen set. Photo taken Tuesday 10/3/17 Ryan Pelham/The Enterprise

Photo: Ryan Pelham

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The retro neon sign on the Pines Theater in downtown Silsbee. The theater has been closed since Harvey with no date to reopen set. Photo taken Tuesday 10/3/17 Ryan Pelham/The Enterprise

Photo: Ryan Pelham

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The Pines Theater in downtown Silsbee. The theater has been closed since Harvey with no date to reopen set. Photo taken Tuesday 10/3/17 Ryan Pelham/The Enterprise

Photo: Ryan Pelham

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The Pines Theater in downtown Silsbee. The theater has been closed since Harvey with no date to reopen set. Photo taken Tuesday 10/3/17 Ryan Pelham/The Enterprise

Photo: Ryan Pelham

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The Pines Theater in downtown Silsbee. The theater has been closed since Harvey with no date to reopen set. Photo taken Tuesday 10/3/17 Ryan Pelham/The Enterprise

The two-screen Cinema I and II on Bowling Lane in Orange, a staple of families' Friday nights and high school outings, has been closed since Harvey and won't reopen, Showbiz Cinemas said Friday.

The company did not provide more information about the scope of damage to the building or the decision to close.

The theater is the second to close in the wake of Harvey. AMC Theatres announced in October that Silsbee's Pines Theater would not reopen after the building and equipment sustained "significant damage" during Harvey.

Crystal Denison, 40, who grew up in Buna and now lives in Bridge City, said both theaters offered simplicity and sense of history, along with lower ticket prices and convenience.

"Nothing's really new, nothing's really modern or fancy," she said. "It's the smallness and the intimacy of it" that kept people coming back, she said. She and her family went to the Orange theater two to three times a month before it closed, she said.

"We're very disappointed," Denison said.

Jessica Hill, executive director of the Orange County Economic Development Corporation, said her group has been in communication with Showbiz and other businesses since Harvey trying to determine which plan to close and offering help for others to stay open.

She said "maybe a handful" of businesses have decided to permanently close, while others are still resolving insurance payouts and assessing the market before making a decision.

"Business attraction is hard," Hill said. "We continue to seek out new investments and do everything that we can on the state and national level," she said. "You have to create a community and an environment that is welcoming to businesses, and you have to frequent those businesses. It's a numbers game."

Many, including Denison, are hoping Showbiz reconsiders or that another company buys and repairs the theater.

"I think they would stay busy if they did. Every time we went, they were packed," she said.